[NRG Proposal] Semaphore v4 in Noir

[blueh4mster]

Title:

Proposal for Semaphore v4 Implementation in Noir

Summary:

We propose an incremental approach towards implementing Semaphore v4 in Noir. We will start with implementing the semaphore circuit in noir. As for group and identity, we intend to reuse the existing implementation and check for any conflicts arising due to shift from circom to noir. We will update the proof part to ensure integration with noir circuit. The contracts will also be written and generated according to the noir implementation.

Team:

Preeti Karnwal blueh4mster:

I am a blockchain developer and researcher and I am currently working and researching upon ZK and FHE cryptography. I have been working on a project to replace bootstrapping mechanism in FHE using ZKPs and my most recent project AES128-tfhe is implementation of AES-128 in rust on FHE encrypted keys and data.
Other than cryptography, I am also interested in low level development and I am currently building a custom compiler in C++ Compiler.

Experience:
I have built a complex math and FFT library in Noir in a hackathon and I am familiar with noir circuits and their integration AzMath.
I don’t have any explicit experience working with semaphore however I have studied and researched its idea and implementation.

Utsav Sharma x-senpai-x:

I am a second-year undergraduate student at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee with a keen interest in Zero-Knowledge proofs, Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), cryptography, and Ethereum infrastructure. I have been actively exploring these domains, deepening my understanding of blockchain protocols and privacy-preserving technologies.

Experience:
Previously, I worked on Selene, a lightweight Ethereum client written in Golang. Selene is designed to enable trustless blockchain interactions by facilitating decentralized data retrieval without relying on centralized RPC endpoints. It focuses on key light client functionalities such as block verification, state synchronization, and proof validation, making Ethereum more accessible and decentralized.

Timelines and Deliverables:

First Month

• Research and setup(1 week):

  • Continue the ongoing research and read the existing implementation of Semaphore v4 in circom and Semaphore v3 in noir.
  • Read the zk-kit implementation to prepare for integration of proof and contracts with the noir circuit.

  Deliverables

  • Complete project plan with requirement and technical specifications.

• Development and unit Testing (2 weeks):

  • Circuit: Implement the semaphore v4 circuit in noir.
    • EdDSA and Baby-jubjub
    • Merkle root computation and generate circuit constraints
  • Contracts:
    • Implement Semaphore groups contract taking reference from Semaphore v4
    • Generate verifier contracts from the circuit.

  Deliverables

  • Separate components of the implementation with respective documentation and testing suite.

Second Month

• Integration and Testing(3 weeks):

  • Group and Identity:
    • Reuse most of the existing TypeScript implementation and check for conflicts due to shift from circom to noir.
    • Group implementation in TypeScript
    • Identity implementation in TypeScript
  • Proof:
    • Integration of group, identity and noir circuit.
    • Implement generate and verify proofs. Update the existing circom implementation to integrate with noir.

  Deliverables:

  • Complete integrated implementation along with documentation and testing suite.

• Benchmarking and Deployment(1 week):

  • Benchmarking and testing using the existing test suite of the implemented Semaphore v4 in noir.
  • Final Documentation
  • Review and discussion of future scope.

  Deliverables:

  • Entire open source Implementation along with documentation, test suite and user guides.

Start Time:

We have already started the research part of the proposal and we are currently also reading the code implementation of Semaphore v4.